Marina Atlantico

This was the first hotel we stayed in whilst island hopping on the Azores: a big sea facing comfortable and clean room, good location and excellent breakfasts with lots of variety. They do tend to accommodate big tour groups, so the restaurant can get very busy when they all eat at a similar time in order to go on a coach tour, but we mostly managed to avoid this and enjoyed eating both inside and out on the terrace. The public rooms are very light and airy. My biggest thanks, however, go to Maria the Guest Relations Manager. I realised I had lost a small pot of jewellery once we had moved on to Faial, and the last time I remembered having it was at this hotel. We lived out of packing cubes for 3 weeks, so once home and certain I didn’t have the jewellery in my possession, I messaged the hotel and they confirmed it was in lost property. They promptly returned the items to me in the UK at no cost to myself. The items were not hugely valuable except in a sentimental way, so I was really touched by this kind action - thank you!

São Miguel, Azores is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited, which made my experience at Hotel Marina Atlântico especially disappointing. I was coming here from the EPIC SANA in Lisbon, which set a very high standard for service, facilities, and overall presentation. Unfortunately, this “4-star” hotel did not come close to that standard. The building and service need significant improvement. When I arrived, the hotel parking lot was full. The front desk directed me to park in the adjacent parking garage, but they never told me that the payment machine only accepted cash. I discovered that the hard way. When I later tried to leave the garage, I couldn’t figure out how to exit because I had not been given the necessary information. After considerable frustration, I returned to the hotel, only to learn that payment for the garage could actually be made at the hotel reception. This should have been explained when I was first directed there. My first impression of the hotel itself wasn’t much better. The hallway carpeting was visibly worn and there was an unpleasant odor. The carpet in the room also looked dated, and the air conditioning wasn’t running when I arrived, making the room uncomfortably hot. I had booked a massage in advance but cancelled it after seeing the spa and gym facilities. There was no one at the spa desk when I visited. The sauna was extremely bare—there were no towels, slippers, or robes available, and guests were expected to bring everything from their rooms. Each guest receives a towel card, but you can only obtain one towel at a time from reception. For a hotel advertising itself as 4-star, this felt unnecessarily inconvenient. The gym was another disappointment. There was a selection of cardio machines but a very limited selection of light dumbbells. There was a leg press that requires weight plates, but there were no plates available to use it. Even the sanitation supplies were not maintained: both the spray bottle and the wall-mounted dispenser were empty. The pool was cold and had a strong chlorine smell. I will acknowledge that I have a particularly sensitive sense of smell, so this may not bother every guest. Breakfast was also underwhelming. The buffet was very basic and did not clearly identify which foods contained gluten. The selection was limited, with relatively little fruit and no omelet station. Overall, it felt more like a bare-bones breakfast than what I would expect from a 4-star hotel. One other thing I would point out to prospective guests: be wary of very short reviews giving this hotel a high rating and simply mentioning “great location,” “friendly staff,” and “free breakfast.” Those things may all be true, but they don’t provide much detail about the condition of the hotel, the amenities, the quality of the breakfast, or the overall guest experience. I think those are important factors to consider when deciding where to stay, particularly when a hotel is marketed as 4-star. I want to emphasize that São Miguel itself is spectacular. The scenery, natural beauty, and overall destination are extraordinary. Unfortunately, Hotel Marina Atlântico did not complement the experience. After staying at the EPIC SANA in Lisbon immediately beforehand, the contrast in maintenance, amenities, and service was particularly noticeable. The biggest issue wasn’t that every facility was luxurious—it was that many basic details were poorly maintained or poorly communicated. For a hotel presenting itself as 4-star, I expected a substantially higher standard of upkeep, service, and guest experience.

Hotel Marina Atlântico exceeded our expectations! The location is fantastic—right on the marina and within easy reach of restaurants, shops, and all the things you want to explore. The hotel itself has wonderful amenities, comfortable rooms, and everything you need for a relaxing and enjoyable stay. But what truly made this hotel exceptional was the staff and service. From the moment we arrived, everyone was warm, welcoming, attentive, and genuinely eager to help. The level of hospitality really stood out and made us feel valued throughout our entire stay. A great location and beautiful amenities are wonderful, but it’s the people who make a hotel memorable, and the team at Hotel Marina Atlântico absolutely delivered. We would happily stay here again and highly recommend it to anyone visiting São Miguel!

We had an overnight stay for airport connections. It is a 15 minute taxi ride to/from the airport. We arrived late and left early. It was a pleasant stay though and the beds were very comfortable.The staff were top-notch and put out some breakfast items for our early departure. They even ordered a taxi for us for the morning return to the airport. We would definitely stay here again.

Rent 2 rooms. They have 24h reception. They put our rooms close to each other as requested .Th relocation is great close to the city center. Breakfast is decent. A nice place to stay if it s your first time in the island. Parking is available and convenient